Fake WhatsApp Android App called “Update WhatsApp” has been Downloaded by 1 Million Peoples and trick users into downloading it thinking they were downloading an update for the popular messaging app.
Based on the number of downloads, this fake WhatsApp app is one of the most successful ever.
Also Read: Finally now WhatsApp allows you delete message that you have sent
Nikolaos Chrysaidos, a security researcher at anti-virus company Avast said, This Fake Android App Developed for generating revenue through ads by fooling users and trick them to click it.
Fake WhatsApp Update on #GooglePlay . Under the "same" dev name. Incl. a Unicode whitespace. One Million downloadshttps://t.co/qjqxd6n6HP pic.twitter.com/dmvTksqpuP
— Nikolaos Chrysaidos (@virqdroid) November 3, 2017
As Motherboard reported the app has been downloaded at least 1 million times till now. You should know, the original WhatsApp has 1 billion downloads.
This Fake whatsup app developer is still unknown and later moment this fake app developer has changed the name as “Dual Whatsweb Update,” and removed the “WhatsApp Inc.” developer title.
Also Read: Whatsapp Blocked In China After Google And Facebook
When IANS checked it on the Play Store, we found the app has been downloaded up to 5,000 times. There is another version under the same name which has a million downloads.
In this Case, hackers can use the same techniques—spoofing legitimate apps and sneaking them onto the Play Store—to hack victims.
But Fortunately ,all the Downloaded Victims are safe since this fake app has been Developed only for generating Revenue and it isn’t capable to perform any Malicious activities.
This is the latest in a long string of incidents in which Google has shown little seriousness in attempting to protect Google Play users.
In this case, Google’s failure to protect WhatsApp’s intellectual property has a further dimension – WhatsApp is owned by Google’s primary competitor for online advertising revenue, Facebook.
